Inside the Slate Cubicle

Introducing the Inside the Cubicle Webinar Series: A New Resource for Career Guidance in Slate

This past Monday saw the launch of a new webinar series designed to provide insightful guidance on career paths, roles, and opportunities within the Slate Community.

“So helpful! It was great to hear from a variety of consultants and companies, and I came away with all my questions about consulting answered and learned more.”

Hosted by the Slate Community Ambassador team, the inaugural webinar, titled Inside the Consultant’s Cubicle, included a panel of Slate consultants discussing their professional journeys and pathways to where they are today.

“I really enjoyed this session! It was so refreshing to hear from folks who have been working in consulting. I enjoyed hearing about their “typical days” or how they manage their time in the workweek. I thought the panel represented a wide array of backgrounds and experiences in Slate, which I appreciated.”

We’re thrilled to help the Community Ambassador team kick off this new resource, and we hope you’ll tune in for future sessions. In the meantime, see what Community Ambassador Jasmine Solomon (NYU) has to say about it:

What prompted the idea for this series (and the series name)?

The idea for the series on professional journeys in Slate came out of a conversation I had with Megan Story during the ReWorkflow podcast where we were talking about our Summit session and sharing ideas for future sessions this past summer. Soon after that, I also saw a LinkedIn post where enrollmentFuel was asking for ideas for their podcast from the Slate community, and the same topic of professional journeys was suggested in a comment, solidifying that this was something the community was seeking out. From there, we pitched the idea to Technolutions folks. It went through a few iterations before finding a path forward as a webinar series with the Community Ambassadors as hosts.

The series name, Inside the Cubicle, is a play on Inside the Actors Studio, a show I loved watching growing up that delved into career paths of actors, helping aspiring actors see the many different paths to fame (their goal). We hope that giving a glimpse into the cubicle (or chaotic home office as the case may be) of different folks in the community in different roles will help those looking to grow in their own career to prepare for the next step and learn about the many doors that skills in Slate can open.

Do you see this - providing a resource for Slate career guidance rather than tips & tricks for working within Slate itself - as a shift in the role of the Community Ambassador team? Why or why not?

I think the Community Ambassadors are interested in being a resource to the Community; that's why we volunteer our time. The Job Posting channel is incredibly active in the new Slate Community, as is the prov-dev channel in Slack. I often see posts in spaces throughout the community asking about roles, interview questions, crafting job descriptions, etc. The reality of institutions closing and seeing those recently laid off posts in LinkedIn exacerbates this need.

There is a hunger for information about careers and opportunities. Folks were craving a way to figure out what may be next for them, and this series is one way we can get this resource to the community.

What do you hope attendees will walk away with?

I hope attendees will leave with a better understanding of the featured panelists’ roles. It's so very easy to get siloed in your own work and have misconceptions about what it's like for someone working on the other side of the screen. By sharing different individuals' perspectives, each with their own unique journey, we hope that attendees will be able to learn if that career path is an appealing option to them.

In higher ed, especially admissions, we think a lot about helping an applicant figure out if our institution is a good fit so that they will not only enroll, but also persist and eventually graduate. This series aims to help professionals find their fit within the Slate Community.

What's next in the line-up for the series, and what's the best way for people to stay informed when a new webinar is scheduled?

In 2025, we'll have Inside the Captain's Cubicle featuring Slate captains at institutions of different types, as well as Inside the Company Cubicle featuring Technolutions staff. We'll share dates, times, and registration information throughout the Slate Community spaces as well as in Slack and Facebook to reach a broad audience.